Vancouver: North America's most expensive city - Vancouver Sun

Vancouver: North America's most expensive city - Vancouver Sun

Vancouver overtook U.S. cities to become the most expensive in North America, ranked 37th in the world.

CANBERRA - Zurich has topped Tokyo to become the world's most
expensive city, as surging currencies push up the cost of living in
countries like Switzerland and Australia, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Vancouver
overtook U.S. cities to become the most expensive in North America,
ranked 37th in the world. Los Angeles was the most expensive U.S. city -
equal 42nd with Shanghai - while New York came in 47th.

The Swiss
Franc's allure as a safe haven for investors moving their funds out of
Euro zone nations propelled Zurich to the top spot from fifth last year,
while Geneva came in third.

Five Australian cities made it into
the top 20, led by Sydney and Melbourne in seventh and eighth places,
according to The Worldwide Cost of Living survey, carried out by the
Economist Intelligence Unit.

"Exchange rates have been the
greatest influence for the Australian cost of living, with the
Australian dollar seeing its value to the U.S. dollar double in a
decade," said survey editor Jon Copestake in a statement.

The
survey of 130 cities worldwide compares more than 400 individual prices
across 160 products, including food, clothing, transport, rents and
private schools.

Asian cities moved up the ranking, with Singapore gaining one place to 9th spot and Seoul climbing nine places to 27th.

Asia
was also home to some of the cheapest cities. Three of the four
cheapest were in the Indian subcontinent: New Delhi and Mumbai in India,
and Karachi in Pakistan, which was the cheapest of cities surveyed.